Injuries & Moves: Topa continuing to improve; Stewart undergoes MRI
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May 3: RHP Brock Stewart (right shoulder tendinitis) placed on 15-day IL; LHP Kody Funderburk recalled from Triple-A St. Paul
Though Stewart had said before his May 1 outing in Chicago that he was feeling physically healthy, the Twins made a very late roster move before their May 3 game against the Red Sox to place him on the IL with right shoulder tendinitis while recalling Funderburk, who had been optioned earlier in the week. Stewart had a 25-inning scoreless inning streak snapped by a Korey Lee homer during his last outing.
"Just as much as my shoulder’s hurting, my brain and heart is hurting, too, just because I’ve dealt with injuries before and having success that I have had last year and this year, I want to be that guy," Stewart said. "I want to be that guy every day, every night for the Twins. It’s definitely hard. It’s not fun at all."
May 3: CF Byron Buxton (right knee inflammation) placed on 10-day IL; UTIL Austin Martin recalled from Triple-A St. Paul
Buxton exited in the second inning of Wednesday's game in Chicago following stolen-base attempts on three consecutive pitches and ultimately ended up on the 10-day IL on Friday due to persistent tenderness and inflammation in the knee. Imaging did not reveal any structural damage, and the hope from both president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and manager Rocco Baldelli was that Buxton wouldn't need much more than the minimum 10-day stay on the IL before his return.
"You don’t want to be chasing that every couple of days," Falvey said. "So we want to try and get ahead of it here. There is inflammation there, and it’s clear on the MRI, so we want to try to knock that out before he gets back on the field." More >>
May 3: RHP Jorge Alcala recalled from Triple-A St. Paul; RHP Caleb Boushley optioned to Triple-A St. Paul
Boushley ultimately didn't make an appearance after he was brought up as an emergency length option if needed for the Twins' May 1 game in Chicago, and he was immediately optioned back down to make room for Alcala, who had allowed two earned runs in four innings (a 4.50 ERA) across three appearances for Triple-A St. Paul after he'd been optioned down on April 14 following six scoreless appearances in the Majors to open the season.
10-DAY/15-DAY INJURED LIST
RHP Justin Topa (left patellar tendinitis)
Expected return: Early May
Topa made a third rehab appearance on May 3, and his velocity was trending back up, topping out at 94 mph after it had been down a bit in his first two outings. He is scheduled to throw again on May 5. Topa said his velocity simply took some time to build back up following his extended time off the mound to open the season, and noted he had sharp stuff with most of his pitches against both right-handed and left-handed hitters in that promising May 3 apperance.
"For me, it's getting the game schedule back in and working with that from a body standpoint," Topa said. "Trying to get used to doing everything pregame then kind of having a little downtime before getting to ramp back up. To do that and add some stuff into my movement prep in the bullpen to make sure everything is good to go."
Topa began the season on the IL due to soreness and inflammation related to left knee tendinitis that had lingered throughout last season. It flared up during Spring Training, leading to him opting for rest to get out ahead of the issue this year. (Last updated: May 4)
RHP Brock Stewart (right shoulder tendinitis)
Expected return: TBD
The Twins made a late move to send Stewart to the IL just before first pitch of their May 3 game against the Red Sox after he came out of catch play continuing to feel a pinch-like feeling in his shoulder, to the point where he felt the need to take time away. He'd originally pitched through the issue that originally presented during his April 25 outing against the White Sox, but the issue wasn't resolving. He said he'd felt worse pain in his shoulder earlier in his career and is encouraged that the current pain level is lower.
He underwent an MRI on the morning of May 4 but did not yet have results to report. He did expect to be shut down from throwing, but wasn't yet sure of his timeline.
"I’ve just got to look big picture because we’re on a winning team and we’re playing really well," Stewart said. "We’re going to be playing some very meaningful ballgames in another month and then two months and then the second half of the season, so just got to think big picture and take care of it now, if we can, and not let it get worse to a point where I just basically screw myself for the rest of the season." (Last updated: May 4)
3B Royce Lewis (severe right quad strain)
Expected return: No sooner than June
Lewis said on May 3 that he was taking up to 80 swings in the batting cage a day, jogging on the warning track and taking fielding drills hit directly to him as he was lightly ramping up his activity -- though he still hadn't been cleared by doctors to actually play. He noted that he wasn't feeling any soreness or pain as a result of that level of activity, but was still waiting for his muscle to fully heal before he would be cleared by doctors to return to play. He described this as his most difficult rehab yet mentally due to the lack of a concrete timeline for his healing.
Lewis was expected to need at least a month of pure recovery following what was described as a "severe" right quad strain sustained while running the bases in the Twins' Opening Day victory over the Royals on March 28. He will not require surgery but did receive a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection.
"[The quad] was torn, so to my knowledge, it's not fully reattached at all, and we've got to wait on that muscle," Lewis said. "So, I'm patiently waiting on my own body, but that's tough." (Last updated: May 3)
CF Byron Buxton (right knee inflammation)
Expected return: Mid-May
Buxton is not expected to need much more than the minimum 10 days on the IL for knee inflammation that flared up on a stolen-base attempt on May 1 in Chicago, which led to his placement on the IL on May 3. MRIs did not reveal any structural damage to the knee, so the hope is that getting treatment done on the inflammation will get Buxton healthy enough to play again in relatively short order. (Last updated: May 3)
60-DAY INJURED LIST
RHP Josh Winder (right scapula stress fracture)
Expected return: June
Winder began a rehab assignment with Single-A Fort Myers on April 30 as the starting pitcher for the Mighty Mussels against Bradenton. Because Winder missed all of Spring Training, the Twins took it slowly with his progression, treating his recovery as a more Spring Training-like buildup.
He was tracking behind in his buildup due to a stress fracture he sustained in his right shoulder area last fall, which he said was due to his workload throughout his 2023 season. After undergoing imaging in October, Winder was prescribed rest to allow the fracture to heal, after which he started to throw in January. (Last updated: April 30)
RHP Daniel Duarte (right elbow strain)
Expected return: Not this season
Duarte will undergo right elbow surgery on May 8, performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas. He had Tommy John surgery on his right arm 10 years ago. This surgery will either be a total replacement of the graft in his elbow or the installation of a brace to support the current structure.
According to head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta, Meister said he wouldn’t know which until he began the procedure. Either way, Duarte is facing a long recovery. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on April 22. (Last updated: April 22)
RHP Zack Weiss (right teres major strain)
Expected return: No sooner than June
Weiss is still in a long-toss program and hasn’t thrown off a mound after he suffered recurring symptoms that have slowed his expected progression.
Weiss was moved to the 60-day IL on April 9. He suffered a strain to the teres major in the right rotator cuff in late February and did not appear in any Spring Training games. (Last updated: April 20)
RHP Anthony DeSclafani (right elbow strain)
Expected return: Not this season
DeSclafani underwent season-ending flexor tendon repair surgery with Dr. Keith Meister on March 29. He attempted two ramp-ups in Spring Training but had both halted by elbow soreness, at which point he and the Twins sought a consultation with Meister.
There was no UCL involvement, meaning DeSclafani did not need Tommy John surgery, but the flexor tendon surgery also involves a 13-month recovery timeline. (Last updated: March 30)